Many manufactured components, such as casted brake rotors, are usually unmarked due to difficulties of marking. For components that will experience wear during use, effective marking is challenging or impossible to maintain. Regarding brake rotors, for example, a marking including print, a label, or etching on a frictional surface will quickly wear in response to a few applications of the breaks.
There is a need for a way to effectively and lastingly mark components without adding prohibitive cost to the manufacturing process or compromising component quality. For brake rotors, negative effects on quality could include an unwanted increase in weight, a decrease in strength, or a decrease in frictional properties.